(1). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical lamps, and more particularly to an improved lamp having a plurality of lighting elements therein and a control circuit to selectively connect and disconnect individual elements.
(2). Background Information
The outdoor advertising business utilizes billboards with various types of illumination throughout the country. Many billboards along interstates are located in fields and the like where access may be limited because of weather and/or crop conditions. In addition, many such billboards are quite high and require the use of boom trucks or other specialized equipment in order to replace a lamp. In fact, in many cases, the cost of the labor and/or damage to fields is significantly greater than the cost of the lamp which is replaced on the billboard.
Although lamp replacement in remote areas is expensive, the cost for replacing streetlights and the like in a metropolitan area is also costly.
Not only is the expense of changing high intensity discharge lamps expensive, but there are other detrimental effects in the event that a lamp is burned out. Obviously, if a billboard has no lights, customers cannot read signs after dark, thereby leading to a loss of sales. Similarly, dim and/or unlit areas can be both safety and traffic hazards.